Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday promised mass deportations of Haitian immigrants in an Ohio city, shortly after US President Joe Biden called for an end to attacks against that community.
While Trump, 78, continued his attacks on immigrants, he did not dwell on the false and disparaging comments he made during his Tuesday night debate with his Democratic rival, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We’re going to do massive deportations in Springfield, Ohio,” Trump said at a news conference at his golf resort in Los Angeles.
Claims including that the Haitian community was eating domestic animals prompted a sharp rebuke from Biden on Friday.
At a White House event celebrating the achievements of the black community, Biden singled out his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, as a proud Haitian-American.
“It’s just wrong that the proud Haitian community is being attacked right now in this country. There’s no place for that in America. They have to stop what they’re doing,” Biden said.
Haitian community leaders across the United States said the Republican candidate’s remarks could endanger lives and further exacerbate tensions in Springfield, Ohio, where thousands of recently arrived Haitians have boosted the local economy but also strained the social safety net.
Trump’s comments that “they’re eating the dogs, the people that have come in, they’re eating the cats” during the debate were the latest in a long line of lies about immigrants that have defined his political career, and echoes a similar false claim by his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Springfield city officials say they have not received any credible reports of anyone eating pets.
City spokeswoman Karen Graves said she was not aware of any recent hate crimes against Haitian residents, but that some had been victims of “crimes of opportunity,” such as property theft.
Trump previously said the influx of 20,000 illegal Haitian immigrants into the city of 58,000 has destroyed the Springfield way of life.
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